Suddenly the spring (s?) broke and I need to take the motor apart and have a look to see what springs I need.The screws (see photo) won´t budge. I've sprayed them over and over with penetrating oil to no avail. The motor seems to be in fine condition, no rust anywhere and it´s not worn. There´s a lot of oil and grease everywhere and I suspect the screws are stuck with oil that has hardened.

I´ve looked through older threads on stuck screws and below I´ve compiled a few tips.

My questions: can I put the entire motor in a freezer, would that help? Would it damage anything else?Would heating the screws be a good idea - seeing as they seem to be stuck with old hardened oil?

Thanks for any further advice, I´ve never worked on a Garrard before... Snal

COMPILED TIPS:

One of the few things I've learned over the years is never to rush a stuck screw. Just mind it daily with your favorite light oil, atf and lacquer thinner, pb blaster or whatever while you attend to other things. One day those screws will turn.-Bill.

I like to use a heat gun to help remove difficult screws. It's been some time since I disassembled a fat Victrola arm but I don't think the threads are reversed. Jerry B.

To break the friction on my old bikes, with obviously larger screws and bolts, I find that after penetrating oil, turning them IN just a few degres, like 3, breaks them free.

The bit about having a screwdriver that fits EXACTLY, and this might mean dressing it to fit with a file, is mandatory. Old British bikes have slotted screws made from hard cheddar, and I learnt it the "crying with frustration" way.

What I found was that a very good screwdriver that fits exactly is essential to getting these screws out if they are stuck. Most screwdrivers have a tapered tip, which is not what you need. You need a screwdriver with a tip that is all right angles, so it completely filles out the slot in the screw head more more torque.

Have you tried hitting them lightly from the side with a hammer? After applying penetrating oil and letting them sit for some time. I had the exact same thing with my Garrard motor, and the hammer helped.

Thanks for your advice, I've now tried with the hammer / lightly / and heating the screws with a soldering iron, but for now they still won't budge. I'll be patient and repeat the treatment during a few days and see what happens. I'll get back with news when there are any!

DISCLAIMER: I have used this method with success, but you need to be extremely careful, as a slip might cause damage.

Shape a slotted screwdriver bit for a cordless drill to fit the screw slot exactly... Press down on your drill to make sure the bit does not jump out of the screw slot. Put the drill in reverse and set the drill to the screw setting - not the drill setting - and set the torque setting to the lightest setting usually #1. If you have a speed setting, set that to #1, not #2 and gently squeeze the trigger while applying pressure on the drill to keep the bit in the screw slot. As I said, it is important not to let the bit slip out of the slot. With the torque setting set to its lightest setting, the clutch may let the bit chatter in the screw slot, which actually helps break it loose.

This is not for the faint of heart, so caution is necessary and practice on some other unimportant part is suggested...

WARNING: If this does not work for you, I am not responsible for any damage this might cause. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK...

"The phonograph is not of any commercial value."Thomas Alva Edison - Comment to his assistant, Samuel Insull.

"No one needs a Victrola XX, a Perfected Graphophone Type G, or whatever you call those noisy things."My Wife

I don´t have the chordless screwdriver, but might be able to borrow one soon - so I´ll try that route when I get a hold of it and follow your instructions. Obviously I´ll sue you if it doesn´t work. Just kidding.

and Jerry

As for the photo - I haven´t used the screwdriver in the photo - I just put it there to point to the screws in question, to show which are the ones that are giving me trouble.

After maybe two weeks of patiently nursing (heating, oils, chilling, aceton, tapping etc.) these screws I got them out with a combination of all the advice you guys gave me. Number one was definitely PATIENCE! Then I filed down a screwdriver so it fit perfectly and made place for a wrench on it. asked a friend to turn the wrench while I pressed the screwdriver down and all of them came out - unharmed!!

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